off his shoulders. She imagined his hands unfastening the front of his trousers before she forced her mind to abandon such a shameful game.
Did he think of her in the same way as he lay in his bed at night? The look in his eyes tonight had been hungry. Did he think of her with desire and consider coming to her room? What would she do if he did?
Protest and fight against him or yield and welcome him into her bed? She shivered, her body feeling hot and cold at the same time.
Pulling the blanket tighter around her, Huiann turned her mind to sending up her nightly prayers to her ancestors. She asked for Grandma Mei’s guidance, believing she of all people would understand the power of attraction and could give wise counsel about how to combat it.
Govern yourself and you can govern the world. The proverb floated into her mind like an answer, perhaps not an easy one, but a wise one nevertheless.
Slowly Huiann’s tension ebbed, and the thick, hot feeling between her legs lessened. Her nipples became soft again instead of sharp points. She drifted into a dream about a hungry tiger stalking a rabbit which suddenly turned and attacked the tiger.
Another night in a foreign land slipped away.
Bonnie Dee
97
The following morning Huiann prepared breakfast and bid Alan goodbye when he left for work. Her mother had seen her father off to work like this every day of Huiann’s life. It was a warm and friendly ritual that made her feel like a wife, for a moment. But that was an illusion she mustn’t give in to.
After Alan left, she decided she could no longer put off washing clothes and bedding. No one had come looking for her since that first day so Alan had indicated it was safe for her to use the water pump and outhouse without fearing the neighbors would spread tales of her whereabouts all the way to Chinatown. But after one horrifying visit to the smelly outhouse, she preferred to use the indoor commode and only spend enough time in the privy to empty the basin.
Now Huiann took a large, cobwebbed washtub from a hook on the wall outside the back door and carried it inside. Laundering in the kitchen might leave dampness on the floor by the time she was finished, but at least she’d have privacy.
Filling the tub took many trips to the pump, carrying heavy buckets of water that strained her arms, and then heating the water in kettles and pots on top of the stove. At last she had enough water in the tub to submerge Alan’s sheets. The water sloshed over the edge and puddled on the floor. There was no washboard so she scrubbed the cloth as best she could with the lye soap from the sink. Soon her hands were red and raw from the hot water and harsh soap. Her knees hurt from kneeling on the hard floor and her back ached from bending over the tub, plunging and scrubbing. Washing was much harder than she’d anticipated. She understood now why her mother had 98
Captive Bride
sent theirs to a laundress. Huiann and her sisters had done light housework, cooking and sewing, but there’d been servants to perform the heavy, rough work.
It was hard to rinse the sheet clean of the slimy soap and as Huiann squeezed out water and coiled the sheet beside the tub, she suddenly realized there was no clothesline on which to hang it to dry. She lifted the heavy, wet bundle and carried it to the stairs to drape over the banister. When she was finished, she pushed a stray lock of hair from her sweaty cheek, blew a long breath and added another heated kettle of water to the tub before immersing one of Alan’s shirts.
Laundering took much longer than she’d anticipated. Her clothes were soaked and her body streaming with sweat by the time she’d made it through only a few of Alan’s clothes. She wouldn’t get to clean any of her own today.
As she leaned over the washtub scrubbing a pair of drawers, the kitchen door opened and Alan entered the room. He stared at the chaotic kitchen. Every chair, the table, the curtain rod and banister were
Did he think of her in the same way as he lay in his bed at night? The look in his eyes tonight had been hungry. Did he think of her with desire and consider coming to her room? What would she do if he did?
Protest and fight against him or yield and welcome him into her bed? She shivered, her body feeling hot and cold at the same time.
Pulling the blanket tighter around her, Huiann turned her mind to sending up her nightly prayers to her ancestors. She asked for Grandma Mei’s guidance, believing she of all people would understand the power of attraction and could give wise counsel about how to combat it.
Govern yourself and you can govern the world. The proverb floated into her mind like an answer, perhaps not an easy one, but a wise one nevertheless.
Slowly Huiann’s tension ebbed, and the thick, hot feeling between her legs lessened. Her nipples became soft again instead of sharp points. She drifted into a dream about a hungry tiger stalking a rabbit which suddenly turned and attacked the tiger.
Another night in a foreign land slipped away.
Bonnie Dee
97
The following morning Huiann prepared breakfast and bid Alan goodbye when he left for work. Her mother had seen her father off to work like this every day of Huiann’s life. It was a warm and friendly ritual that made her feel like a wife, for a moment. But that was an illusion she mustn’t give in to.
After Alan left, she decided she could no longer put off washing clothes and bedding. No one had come looking for her since that first day so Alan had indicated it was safe for her to use the water pump and outhouse without fearing the neighbors would spread tales of her whereabouts all the way to Chinatown. But after one horrifying visit to the smelly outhouse, she preferred to use the indoor commode and only spend enough time in the privy to empty the basin.
Now Huiann took a large, cobwebbed washtub from a hook on the wall outside the back door and carried it inside. Laundering in the kitchen might leave dampness on the floor by the time she was finished, but at least she’d have privacy.
Filling the tub took many trips to the pump, carrying heavy buckets of water that strained her arms, and then heating the water in kettles and pots on top of the stove. At last she had enough water in the tub to submerge Alan’s sheets. The water sloshed over the edge and puddled on the floor. There was no washboard so she scrubbed the cloth as best she could with the lye soap from the sink. Soon her hands were red and raw from the hot water and harsh soap. Her knees hurt from kneeling on the hard floor and her back ached from bending over the tub, plunging and scrubbing. Washing was much harder than she’d anticipated. She understood now why her mother had 98
Captive Bride
sent theirs to a laundress. Huiann and her sisters had done light housework, cooking and sewing, but there’d been servants to perform the heavy, rough work.
It was hard to rinse the sheet clean of the slimy soap and as Huiann squeezed out water and coiled the sheet beside the tub, she suddenly realized there was no clothesline on which to hang it to dry. She lifted the heavy, wet bundle and carried it to the stairs to drape over the banister. When she was finished, she pushed a stray lock of hair from her sweaty cheek, blew a long breath and added another heated kettle of water to the tub before immersing one of Alan’s shirts.
Laundering took much longer than she’d anticipated. Her clothes were soaked and her body streaming with sweat by the time she’d made it through only a few of Alan’s clothes. She wouldn’t get to clean any of her own today.
As she leaned over the washtub scrubbing a pair of drawers, the kitchen door opened and Alan entered the room. He stared at the chaotic kitchen. Every chair, the table, the curtain rod and banister were
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